


First Contact

by ortaline (Vakarians)



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:38:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vakarians/pseuds/ortaline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aurora Shepard is a newly graduated recruit, preparing for her first trip through the newly discovered Mass Relay. While most would kill for the chance to be assigned immediately for intergalactic space travel, she can't help but feel uneasy. The eeriness of the unknown, especially that of space, was enough to leave a bad taste in her mouth.</p><p>==</p><p>"First Contact" is an AU based on the "First Contact War". Since there's not a lot of information offered on the subject matter, the story will be mainly based on speculation with facts offered from the novels and video game to remain close to the canon story line.</p><p>==</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Contact

Only two days after graduating from the academy, Aurora Shepard was starting fresh with the newly formed Systems Alliance and was preparing for her first bout into space. Most recruits would kill for the chance to be immediately sent out on galactic travel, but there was a heavy weight of uneasiness lurking in her stomach.

Since the discovery of the Prothean data cache on Mars, along with the Mass Relay, strange things had been happening on Earth. There were reports of disappearances, and towns that had been looted by mysterious culprits that, according to survivors, vanished into thin air after the fact. These coincidences have been multiplying as the days past and if there was one thing Shepard didn't like, it was the lingering uncertainty of the unknown. Adventure was something she experienced great pleasure for, but sometimes it made her think if it was always worth jumping into a pool of water that you couldn't see the bottom of.

With a heavy sigh, she stretched her arms up and turned to her television, frowning at the reports of children expressing the power of telekinesis. The children who were affected resided in the more impoverished areas, down river from the military base in Singapore. Considering the situation, it was safe to assume the water supply had been contaminated with deposits of Element Zero. The news report continued on, mentioning that one of the side effects of exposure to EEZO dust was cancer, but they weren't completely sure why some weren't afflicted and others gained paranormal abilities, according to specialists. As soon as vids of those with telekinesis being experimented had begun playing, a wave of disgust washed over Shepard. She reached for the remote and turned off the television, a sour taste lingering in her mouth.

In twenty minutes, she was supposed to be ready to go onto the V1 Normandy and travel through the Mass Relay with her crew to collect a space probe; one that had been sent out six months prior. It was a simple and straight forward mission, but there was no way to know what was out there. There had been studies that experimented to understand where the Mass Relay's endpoints were located. There hadn't been any direct contact with intelligent life forms but when was the research department ever honest with their studies? The sense of dread that had faded returned, forcing Shepard to sit and breathe. It was normal for anyone to feel anxiety about traveling into deep space, but it was the fact that anything they found out there was not always going to have been covered in the intensive training she had completed. Three rapid knocks were heard from the door of her apartment, breaking Shepard out of her thoughts.

"Shepard? Hey Shepard! Wait did you already leave?" asked a familiar voice from beyond the door to her apartment.

With a grin, she stood and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal the one and only Jeff "Joker" Moreau. Leaning on his crutches, he sheepishly smiled. "Well Private Shepard, aren't you ravishing today," he joked, holding back a laugh at the grimace that appeared on her face.

"Really Joker, that's the best that you could come up with?" she replied with a roll of her eyes, unsure of why she was even pandering to his antics.

"Give a guy a break! I had to think of that one on short notice," Joker complained before moving back a couple of steps to allow Shepard to close the door to her apartment.

Waving her card key across the reader, she pushed back her crimson locks out of her face, turning to give Joker a look of skepticism. "This is considered short notice? And here I thought you were capable of pulling things out of your ass a lot better than this," she replied with a grin.

Though they didn't attend training together, Shepard and Joker had become fast friends in the short time they were placed together on the base to prepare for their trip through the Mass Relay. If anything, Shepard could consider him her closest confidante, and the guy who helped map her moral compass.

"Do you really think we're going to find anything out there?" she asked, leading the way out of the military established complex that she lived in.

"Who knows? I mean, a pile of rocks would be the safe option. I don't know if I'm ready to meet intelligent life forms that could, y'know, tear us apart and eat us," Joker said sullenly before pressing the button for the elevator.

"Well isn't that a positive outlook to have," Shepard teased, lips in a slight smirk.

At this point, she didn't know if Joker's skepticism was the more realistic way to view the situation. In the Academy, she did learn about the Protheans, but even then they were classified as an extinct race. Not much was known about them, which led Shepard to wonder if there were any other races that were left. It was naïve to assume that there wouldn't be any others that roamed the galaxy. In the back of her mind, the increasing doubt that they would be friendly grew.

The ring of the elevator bell broke Shepard out of her train of thought and as the door opened she decided the moment she stepped in, she was going to release any of the lingering doubt that clouded her mind. No one needed a soldier who was more concerned about the future instead of the present. As of right now, her mission was to go and collect their probe from the other side of the Mass Relay. Those were her orders and that was her focus.

Joker, who had been lost in thought as well, stepped into the elevator before breaking the silence. "You know Shepard… I think you'd be a kick ass Captain," he speculated, a slight look of awe lingering on his face.

"You can't be serious," Shepard stated; a brow rising as the doors shut to the elevator, soft music emitting from the speakers. "I don't know if I want all that responsibility. If someone like, oh say the 'engineer' makes a mistake; it's my ass on the line. I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of trouble on my hands, especially if there was someone like you on my crew," she joked, a soft chuckle leaving her lips as they reached the first floor.

Before he could make a snarky remark, the doors opened and there stood Admiral Tadius Ahern. Immediately Shepard stood straight to salute him, while Joker had attempted for a moment before realizing there was no possible way to do that with his crutches.

"At ease Private Shepard and… Moreau," Ahern commanded firmly, stepping aside for the pair.

"I wonder when us mechanics—I mean, engineers, get a fancy title like Private," Joker muttered, more so to himself and Shepard as they passed the Admiral, a deep frown lingering on his features.

"I heard that Moreau. Keep talking like that and you'll be grounded here on Earth; permanently." Ahern replied, giving Joker a cold look. Returning his gaze to Shepard, he gave her a once over before folding his arms across his chest. "Now Private Shepard, can you tell me why you haven't reported for roll call for an extremely important mission that departs in t-minus fifteen minutes?" he asked, face reddening in patches.

"Sir, I was just collecting things from my apartment, Sir!" Shepard replied swiftly, a sense of weariness coming over her. She knew she was going to get in trouble with the Admiral but she was not anticipating on meeting him so soon.

"Well I'm glad you got your knickknacks and your blanket for the trip, but you need to move out and get your ass on that ship! Everyone is vital for this mission and we cannot have any screw ups. That means you too Moreau." he stated sternly, turning his gaze onto Joker.

"Aye aye, Admiral," Joker replied sarcastically, making it a point to dramatically salute him as he started making his way towards the loading dock for the Normandy.

Shepard resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the exchange and instead focused her view on the Admiral who had dismissed her before heading in the opposite direction of the duo. Once his back was turned, she jogged up to catch up with Joker who had been laughing to himself.

"You know Shepard, if it were any colder, you would've turned into a Popsicle with the stick that gets lodged up your ass when the Admiral is around," he said with a sneer, trying his best to imitate the stance she took earlier.

"Yeah well, I'd rather have that stick than his foot or have you gotten comfortable with that being permanently lodged up yours, Joker?" she questioned with a grin, stretching her arms over her head.

"Hardy har har. Just you wait, I'm going to get you back for that one Private," he snickered, lifting a crutch to make a playful jab at her side.

When she felt the prod from his crutch, she dramatically placed her hands at her side before staggering forward. "Oh no, you got me. Whatever shall I do, now that I've been mortally wounded," Shepard whispered, stretching a hand in front of her as if reaching for a metaphorical light.

"Well, it looks like you two are getting along well… as usual," spoke the scolding voice of Kaidan Alenko. He stood with a package held over his shoulder, a smirk on his features as he looked towards Shepard. "You know, you guys missed roll call. I heard the Admiral was about to take your necks out on the chopping block," he smugly stated.

Straightening her back, Shepard stood proudly with her hands crossed over her lower back, a triumphant look lacing her features. "It seems Private Alenko, I have braved the beast that is the Admiral and I've lived to tell the tale. What have you done today to serve your planet?" she asked with a coy smirk and a raised brow.

He rolled his eyes before placing down the package with a heavy thud, stretching his muscled arms behind his head. "So, tell me Shepard. Are you excited about heading through the Mass Relay? Not a lot of newbies get to go on a journey like this you know," Kaidan said, a look of annoyance crossing his features. "In fact… it took me about a year to even get considered to join a team to retrieve a delivery from Mars."

"That sounds unfortunate," Shepard responded, her smirk widening into a grin. "Maybe the Admiral took a liking to my critical thinking and sharpshooting."

"Whatever you say Private Shepard," Kaidan said with a shake of his head, bending down to pick up the package he had placed on the ground. "Anyway, you two should head to the Normandy. I need to drop this over at the dock before we leave."

With a wave of a hand, he turned on his heel and left the two behind. Joker glanced over at Shepard before grinning. "It looks like he's taken to you, 'ey Shepard? It could be because of that sparkling personality of yours," he joked, making sure he was able to dodge the hand that had reached out to hit him on the back of the head.

"Don't get any ideas. Besides, he's my superior. If anything, I'd be the last person he would look at with those kinds of intentions," Shepard said, rolling her eyes with a slight shake of her head. "Come on; let's move out before we get into any more trouble."

"Aye aye Captain! Your wish is my command." Joker replied with a smirk, following her retreating figure.  
  


* * *

  
Following the successful launch of the Normandy, the crew of the ship decided to celebrate. Shepard didn't know if she wanted to attend but she could feel Joker's eyes burning holes into her back when she quickly stated that she'd rather keep an eye out for anomalies.

 

"Come on Shepard! What could possibly be out here this early on? We haven't even made it to the Mass Relay yet and you're already getting paranoid," he complained, shaking his head in disappointment. 

"No one's stopping you from going alone Joker. I'd just rather be here and monitor the screens. Why don't you go enjoy yourself? You're going to need that one sober friend who's going to be able to pull you of trouble, aren't you?" Shepard asked, giving him a strained grin.

She didn't like the situation. They had gone past several planets without a problem, but the dread in her stomach had grown heavier. Sighing heavily, she pushed back her hair before turning to look at Joker again. "Listen. Just go and have fun. I'll catch up later, I promise." she stated, pushing on his shoulder gently to urge him forward.

"Alright... But if you don't show up, I'm going to make sure Alenko is the one who retrieves you. That dude can pick up anything." Joker said defiantly as he gave Shepard a cheeky grin. Turning around on his crutches with ease, he made his way to the elevator, raising a hand to signify a goodbye as the doors closed.

Shepard had held up a hand as well but once the doors shut behind him, she had returned her attention to the screen before her. Everything was perfectly fine, but it seemed like it was too… perfect. Every passing asteroid or piece of space debris that passed the ship would cause her to tense up but moments after, she would be at ease. 'Maybe Joker's right,' Shepard thought with a grimace. Though her gut feelings were hardly ever wrong, it could be that harboring this dread had embedded it into her psyche. Taking a deep breath, she decided to stretch and stood up, making her way over to the back room of the floor she was on. There was a large window that encompassed the entire room, which in hindsight was dangerous on a spaceship that was on its way to unknown territory. Despite the design flaw, there was one thing she had to admit: the view of space still left her breathless.

Space was a beautiful place, there was no denying it. For years, she would watch vids of the (now retired) Astronauts that lived in space stations orbiting earth, but this? This was absolutely breathtaking. Leaning onto the bar suspended in front of the glass, the tension that was constricting her loosened and she felt like she could breathe. The stress of upholding the unrealistically high standards everyone had for her was probably the thing that was making Shepard so high strung. A slightly bitter sigh left her, her only thought being that it came with the territory of being the most promising out of all the rookies at the academy. She could still remember the looks of envy she received that night from Admiral Adhern.

"Too bad they don't know how unglamorous it actually is," Shepard muttered to herself, lifting a hand to brush back her hair. Taking one last look at the never ending void that was the Galaxy, Shepard returned to her station, slipping on the sound monitoring of the radar.

A sound of static crackled through the air and a loud booming voice rang throughout the ship. "Attention crew. This is Admiral Adhern speaking. I'm here to inform you that we are approaching the Mass Relay. Please return to your quarters or to a seat with all the safety restraints that we have mentioned before boarding the Normandy. I repeat, please fasten all safety restraints as we are quickly approaching the Mass Relay. That is all."

Shepard felt a surge of nervousness rush through her but without hesitation she strapped herself into her seat. Short, hard beeps brought her attention back to the screen, a massive object blinking on the radar. She could feel the ship accelerating and the object on screen looked like it was swiftly heading towards the ship. Finger nails digging into the arms of her chair, Shepard leaned her head back and attempted to relax.

"It'll be over before you know it. You won't even feel a thing," she reassured herself, taking deep breaths as silence permeated the air with a hint of growing anticipation.

Glancing to her right, she could see the glowing object growing closer and closer. It was the Mass Relay—the thing that would jump their ship to the Final Frontier. She could feel her lips curl into a slight grin of excitement, but the nervousness overtook her and Shepard tore her eyes away from the view, taking a deep breath and focusing on the monitor before her.

The ship began accelerating and Shepard felt herself sinking slowly into the back of her chair, hands gripping tightly onto the arms of the seat. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and in that moment—there was nothing. An intense pressure was felt but it had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The systems of the ship flickered but had soon returned to normal, along with the general hum of the ship. Cautiously, she looked around to see if anything was amiss, but to her knowledge, everything looked fine.

Unbuckling herself from the chair, Shepard stood and walked towards the room that was positioned beyond the area, eyes widening in wonder at the sight before her. Surrounded by the vast emptiness of space, an emerald green planet slowly orbited. The way it shone, it reminded her of an emerald gem suspended in space, with a handful of diamonds hanging around it. For a moment, she recalled the conversation she had with Joker earlier that day, how he had hoped it was rocks that they found on the other side but this—this was definitely more than a rock.

Before she could step closer to get more of a view, Shepard heard rambunctious yelling coming from the corridor that was soon followed by Kaidan and Joker.

"SHEPARD DID YOU SEE?" Joker exclaimed, a grin on his face. "WE'VE DISCOVERED SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE HAS SEEN!"

"Hey calm down there Joker, you might give Private Shepard a heart attack with how you're waving that crutch around," Kaidan joked, making sure to dodge the aim of Joker's next swing.

Laughing a bit, Shepard turned her attention back to the view of the planet, arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah, I see it Joker, I do. It makes me wonder if it's an inhabitable planet," she wondered aloud, mesmerized by the glittering sheen it had. "Do you think that Admiral is going to allow us to land on it?"

Snorting, Joker gave her an incredulous look. "I doubt it. That guy has a stick that's been lodged up his ass since World War III," Joker said, a look of skepticism flashing across his face. "Besides, can you imagine an expedition with that guy? He'd probably have us stop every couple of inches to collect data or something."

"Hey show the man a little respect! His Great-great-great-great-great—wait. How many Greats were there before his Grandfather?" Kaidan grinned, ignoring the look of disapproval from Shepard.

"Well either way, I hope we get to learn more about it. Maybe it's made of Emerald or something, you know, judging from the way it shines and all," she said, brows furrowed at the prospect.

"Well, I never pinned you for someone who liked jewelry, Shepard," Joker said with a slight smirk, raising a brow.

"Well diamonds are a girl's best friend—at least, isn't that how the saying goes?" she asked, lips tilted in a crooked smirk. "Emeralds though… those are definitely my favorite," Shepard lamented quietly.

Kaidan and Joker looked at each other before snickering, turning their attention to the planet.

Before anyone else could speak, the familiar static of the intercom permeated the air, which was soon followed by the crisp voice of Admiral Adhern.

"Attention Crew. This is Admiral Adhern speaking. We have successfully passed through the Mass Relay and we wouldn't have been able to do that without the hardworking servicemen and women on deck. For now, we shall be holding our positions while we try to decide what we will do next. Rest assured, we are aware of the planet near our position, but until we get a news from control of what are next action is, we'll be on standby. Please return to your areas of work until further notice. That is all."

"Well, I guess there's nothing to do but wait," Joker said with a yawn, sitting himself down carefully before stretching out his legs. "I don't think they're going to need me down in engineering right now. We're over staffed as it is."

"Everyone deserves a break… even slackers." Kaidan said, taking a seat closer to the window.

"While you guys hang out here, I'll go back to monitoring things up on deck," Shepard stated, turning on her heel towards the door. "Just make sure you guys head back to your stations before the Admiral makes his rounds."

"Aye aye Captain," Joker and Kaidan said in unison, stifling their snickers.

Shepard chose to ignore that they were laughing at her expense and returned to her station before taking a deep breath. The feeling of dread she carried was still with her but things were okay. There was no need for her to worry; they had made it through the Mass Relay safe and sound and so far, everything was quiet. However… Maybe it was the quiet that bothered her so much. Preparing to sit down, the entire ship shook as if it were hit. She had stumbled forward against the panels of her area, her stomach dropping immediately with fear. Pulling herself up, Shepard ran back to the viewing room to see Kaidan holding Joker against his seat, carefully avoiding his legs.

"What the hell was that?" Kaidan asked his eyes wide in horror. "You don't think… Do you think it's an asteroid that hit us or…" he trailed off, refusing to finish his sentence.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to check it out. You stay here with Joker and make sure no one enters this room. Make sure you close the shutter to the window as well to make sure that nothing penetrates the glass. We wouldn't you two to get sucked into space," Shepard joked sheepishly, taking a quick look behind her.

It felt like the ship was in disarray. The crew was running to their stations, preparing themselves for—well. She didn't know but she was going to find out.

"Wait, Shepard let me go with you! Joker will be fine here in the room," Kaidan asked, ignoring the bewildered looks of Joker.

"Hey you can't leave me here! You either take me with you or… I don't know. Take me down to engineering. I might not be able to use my legs well but I sure as hell am the best damn person that can help out right now!" Joker said swiftly, reaching for his crutches to stand.

"No Joker, it's not safe right now. Kaidan is going to stay here and make sure nothing comes into this room," Shepard said sternly. "You need to trust my judgment. I don't want to put you two in danger, so please. Stay here."

Not waiting for anymore objections, Shepard stepped out and closed the door behind her before sprinting up the stairs to look for the Admiral. When she reached the Captain's chambers, she slammed her hand against the knob to open the door, running in to see Admiral Adhern and Commander Anderson quietly staring at the screen before them, watching a transmission. Cautiously, Shepard walked forward to get a closer look at the blurred figure that loomed on the screen, but withheld a gasp when she saw that it wasn't a transmission from earth—in fact, it wasn't even human.

The noises it made sounded like a slew of clicking and subtle screeching along with an occasional grunt. Shepard's gaze widened as the figure stepped closer to whatever was recording it, its appearance becoming more apparent. The first thing she noticed was the mandibles on its face, ones the seemed to be in a frown and expressing extreme displeasure. Whatever it was saying, she didn't believe it was an invite for a peaceful meeting. Its skin was a dark black and on its face were white, vibrant tribal markings. Its hardened emerald eyes held a fury that would cause anyone to look away out of fear. This creature was angry and from the looks of it—it was obvious. They had trespassed onto its territory.

After it had stopped speaking, it waited as if wanting a response from the Admiral or the Commander but it was only met with silence. Commander Anderson looked as if he wanted to make an attempt at making some sort of communication but his mouth opened with no sound.

A heavy silence filled the air for a moment before the creature turned its head impatiently, calling for someone off screen—or at least that was what Shepard imagined what was happening. When no one appeared, it gave an exasperated sigh before finally hitting an object that rested on its wrist. A flash of orange light filled the area around its arm, showing a glowing interface that slowly spun around the wrist. With some effort, suddenly the clicking sounds were replaced with English. From Shepard's point of view, she could see Anderson and Adhern relax slightly, relieved that they would finally be able to communicate with the creature properly.

"This is Nihlus, Admiral of the Palaven 665, representative of the Turian Army. You are not welcomed here. You have broken protocol and you are under arrest," he said in a deep drawl, ash grey mandibles flaring angrily.

"…Under arrest? We had no idea that there was anything outside of this Mass Relay. Can you really arrest those who were unaware?" asked Admiral Adhern, his crisp voice staying firm as he spoke to the Turian, his shoulders staying square.

"While you were unaware, you have sent probes to spy on us through an ILLEGALLY activated Mass Relay in the Turian sect. We are not foolish to believe that you Humans aren't here for other reasons," he responded easily, tilting his head back as if to look down on the Admiral.

"Admiral Nihlus, there must be another way." Commander Anderson pleaded, turning his head quickly to the Admiral before speaking again. "We are just simple explorers. We're not here on some conquest to take over the galaxy!"

"Silence. Under the laws of the Council, you are under arrest. Either allow us to board your ship and come quietly or face the consequences." Nihlus said firmly before he disappeared from the screen.

Stopping herself from calling out a shout of protest, Shepard backed away from the room quietly, resisting the urge to make a sound. This wasn't happening. They had just jumped the Mass Relay to see what was on the other side, not to cause an intergalactic incident. In retrospect, she shouldn't have been surprised that there were intelligent life forms outside of their solar system but it was the fact that they were being punished for breaking a law that they weren't aware of. Shepard could hear Adhern and Anderson talking to each other quietly, in urgent voices, attempting to find some sort of resolution to the situation. As the arguing escalated, the ship violently shook, tilting sideways as if it was being pushed from the side. From her view, she could see the Admiral and Commander grabbing onto whatever they could hold on to avoid slipping as a loud creaking noise shot through the ship.

Shepard attempted to make some sort of sound to call for the pair but that was soon replaced by a guttural scream as a heavy metal container slid and pinned the right side of her body to the side of ship. Stars flew past her vision and she could feel herself bite into her lip, drawing blood as she resisted the urge to cry out in pain. All that she could hear was ringing, eyes watering as she felt the ship continue to rock, each movement bringing her more pain. The edges of her vision grew dark, her lungs growing heavy as if filling with lead. Echoes of yelling and gun shots were heard, along with the same screeching that she heard from the call with Admiral Nihlus. Disoriented, Shepard attempted to call out for someone, anyone. "I'm not… going to die here today," she gasped angrily between breaths. Lifting her right hand, she attempted to push at the container, trying to do anything to lessen the pressure off of her.

Figures walked by, back and forth without giving Shepard any kind of notice. The screams were dying down, but the longer she waited, the more of chance she would have been left there to die. Attempting to focus, Shepard took a deep breath, spitting out the metallic taste of blood from her mouth. Resisting the urge to cry out, she looked at her right, surveying the situation. Every solution that came to mind required another person and Shepard was in no condition to shout for anyone, which left the only idea that would work. She'd have to push it herself. Gritting her teeth, Shepard lifted her left arm and pushed. "FUCK!" she groaned, pausing for a moment to take a breath.

"I'm not going to die here, not today," Shepard grunted to herself, lifting her arm again. She pushed harder until she felt it budge; using that moment to push with all the remaining strength that she had left. Her right arm fell limp to her side, the cool air of the ship soothing the heat of her skin.

Dazed, the blurred edge of her vision grew as she tried to focus on the figures that walked past her. They all stood at incredible heights, at least a foot taller than anyone she ever knew. Varying in skin tones and facial markings, they all wore dense, metal armor, each one reflecting their rank on their arms. The air was filled with clicking sounds as they communicated, the group ignoring the fact that she was there and bleeding out. Shepard stood slowly, resisting the burning pain that surged through her right. Staggering forward, she lifted her left arm to grab onto something solid, but instead, stumbling head first towards the group of Turians who had been conversing. Gasping for air, she turned her gaze upward, a hoard of guns held at point blank range to her face. A defiant gleam lit Shepard's emerald gaze and without skipping a beat, she let out a laugh. The Turians that stood over look at her with confusion, their mandibles flaring slightly as if expressing dislike. Looking away from her, they communicated with each other swiftly before stepping over Shepard's body and heading towards the room she lied in front of.

Moments later, there were shouts and angry curses streaming from the room, the Admiral and Commander being dragged out from their posts with the least bit of effort from the Turian's side. Adhern had continued to shout obscenities, demanding that they released him while Anderson followed suit. It was only when the Turians had dragged them over Shepard's body that Anderson noticed she was laying on the ground.

"WAIT! You can't just leave her there. Save her-SAVE HER DAMN IT!" shouted Anderson passionately, lips curled into a frown. He attempted to tear away from the Turian that held his arm, a hand outstretched towards Shepard. Flat clicking sounds met his shouts in response, the man's anger flaring at the apathetic look the Turian soldier gave him. "You need to save her. She's an injured POW. You can't just leave her there to die! I WILL RAISE HELL! I WILL RAISE HELL IF YOU ALLOW HER TO DIE HERE!" he continued to shout, face burning red with rage. He glanced down at Shepard to see her weak grin, his blood running cold when she collapsed onto her back.

Releasing what sounded like an aggravated sigh, the Turian who held Anderson turned his back to relay orders before dragging him forward. Shepard, who had been losing consciousness during the exchange, took a labored breath before glancing up; eyes meeting with those that were the most vibrant shade of steel grey. Her vision swam in front of her, a mixture of emerald and steel filling her sight. Echoes of soft clicking sound were heard and the next thing she knew, Shepard finally plunged head first into darkness.

 

* * *

 

 

It was hot. That was the first thought that crossed Shepard's mind when she regained consciousness. Panic filled her veins and she attempted to sit up, convulsing from the shock of blinding pain shooting through the right side of her body. Writhing on the dirt floor, she let out voiceless screams, her body seizing up with every breath she took. It felt as if an eternity had passed before she reached a state of numbness, her breathing becoming easier but still labored. Releasing a shuddering exhale, Shepard's vision began to focus and it was then that she realized that she was alone. There was no light in the room, the air filled with moisture. Prickling. Biting into her lip, Shepard attempted to roll over onto her uninjured side with a bit of success, stopping only when the pain became too much.

Taking a breath, she pushed onto the ground with her left hand, sitting up against the wall. Wiping her hand on her pants, she looked around the room to take in her surroundings. Even though there were no visible lights in the area, there was a sliver of lights that shone from under the door. It gave enough light for the outlines of the rocks to glitter but it wasn't enough for her to survey her surroundings. It was silent compared to how it was on the ship. The hum that she found annoying from before would have been a welcomed sound if it meant that she wouldn't have to be left alone with her thoughts. Looking down to her right, Shepard stared hard at her right arm and leg, afraid that they had been permanently damaged in the scuffle they had with the other life forms. "On the upside, I guess Joker will have another thing to hold over my head," she muttered to herself before realizing what was missing.

Everyone she came with, her crew mates, her best friend—were missing. Suddenly hyper aware of her environment, she shifted uncomfortably, wincing only at the movement of right arm. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow, Shepard biting into her lip as her mind kept racing. Why was she isolated and away from her comrades? What were they planning on doing to her? Why was she alone? Why, why, why? The prickling anxiety of the situation finally set in and for the first time since she had opened her eyes, Shepard was afraid. There wasn't going to be the sound of a horn signifying the end of the drill. Her breathes grew more rapid, shorter. Shepard lifted a hand to her head, attempting to diffuse the swelling panic that was rising in her throat.

Before the fear she held could swallow her into the depths, a series of short, rapid knocks broke the heavy silence and the silver door to her prison slid open.

 

 


End file.
